The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-09-08

your soul, and you feel as much a child again
as when you cried on her lap; and il you
could bring her back again TO speak just once
more your name, as tenderly as she used to
speak 1t, you would be willing to throw your
self on the ground and kiss the sod that covers
her, crying; "Motherl Motherl" Ali she was
the queen-she was the queen. Now, can YOU
tell me how many thousand miles a woman
like that would have to travel down before
she got TO the ballot-boxi Compared with this
work Of training kings and queens for God and
eternity, how insignificant seems all this
work Of voting for aldermen and common
councilmen, and sheriffs, and constables, and
mayors, and presidents. To make one such
grand woman as have described how many
thousands would you want Of those people
who 60 In the round of godlessness, and
fashion, and dissipation, distorting their
body until In their monstrosities they seem to
Guido the dromedary and hippopotamus, GO
ing as far toward disgraceful apparel as they
dare SO, so as not to be arrested by the police
their behavior a sorrow to the good and a
caricature of the vicious, and an insult to that
God who made them women and not gorgons;
and tramping on, down through frivolous
and dissipated life, to temporal and eternal
damnation!
o woman, with the lightning Of your soul,
strike dead at your feet all these alurements
to dissipation and to fashion, Your immor
God calls you up to empire and dominion.
VIII you have it! o, give to God your
heart; give to God your best energies; give
to God all your culture; give to God all your
refinement; give yourself to Him, for this
world and the next. Soon all these bright
eyes will be quenched, and these voices will
be hushed. For the last time you will look
upon this fair earth. Fathers hand mothers
hand, sisters hand, child's hand will be no
more in yours 1t will be night. and there
will come up a cold wind from the JORDAN,
and you must start. Will it be a lone woman
on a trackless moor. All, mol Jesus will
come up in that hour and offer His hand, and
He will say: "You stood by Me when you
were well: now l will not desert you when
you are sick" One wave of His hand and
the storm will drop; and another wave OF His
hand, and midnight shall break into mid
noon and another wave of His hand, and the
chamberlains of God will come down from
the treasure-houses of heaven, with robes
lustrous, blood washed, and heaven-gllnted,
in which you will array yourself for the mar
riage supper of the Lamb. And then with
Miriam, who struck the timbrel of the Red
Sea; and with Deborah, who led the Lords
host into the fight; and with Hannah, who
gave her Samuel to the Lord; and with Mary,
who rocked Jesus to sleep while there were
angels singing in the air; and with Florence
Nightingale, who bound up the battle-wounds
of the Crimea, you WILL from the chalice of
God drink to the souls eternal rescue.
One twilight, after had been playing with
the children for some time, laid down upon
the lounge to rest The children said, play
more. Children always want to play more.
And, half sleep and half awake, seemed
to dream this dream: 1t seemed to me that
was in a far-distant land-not Persia al
though more than Oriental luxuriance
crowned the cities; nor the tropics-although
more than tropical fruitfulness filed the gar
dens; nor Italy-although more than Italian
softness filled the air. And l wandered
around, looking for thorns and netties, but !
found none of them grew there. And
walked forth and l saw the sun rise, and
said:
"When will it set againg" and the sun sanl
not. And saw all the people in holiday ap
parel, and 1 said: when will they put or
workingman's garb again. and delve in the
mine, and swelter at the forger put neither
the garments nor the robes did they put of
And / wandered in the suburbs, and said
''Where do they bury the dead Of this great
city!' and looked along by the hills where
it would be most beautiful for the dead tc
sleep, and | saw castles, and towns
and battlements but not mausoleum,
nor monument, nor white slab could
see. And went into the great chapel OF
the town, and l said: "Where do the poor
worships where are the benches on which
they sit!" and voice answered: "We have
no poor in this great city" And | wandered
out, seeking to find the place where were the
novels of the destitute; and found mansions
of amber, and ivory, and gold but no tear nor
sigh did | see or hear. l was bewildered; and
l sat under the shadow Of great tree, and
said: "What am l, and whence comes all
thisf And at that moment there came
from among tine leaves, skipping
up the fowery paths and across
the sparkling waters, very bright and
sparkling group; and when saw their step !!
knew it, and when / heard their voices
thought | knew them; but their apparel
was so different from anything l had
ever seen l bowed, a stranger to strangers,
But after awhile, when they clapped their
hands, and shouted: "Welcosne! welcomed!
the mystery was solved, and | saw that time
had passed, and that eternity had come, and
that God had gathered us up into higher
home; and said: care we all here" and the
voices of innumerabIe generations answered:
Here" and while tears of gladness were rain.
ing down our cheeks, and the branches OF
the Lebanon cedars were clapping their
hands, and the towers of the great city We're
Ginning their welcome, we began to laugh
and sing, and leap, and shout: Home
Home! Home!"
Then felt child's hand on my face, and
it woke me. The children wanted to play
more Children always want to play
mora